The present invention relates to a method of attaching a light-emitting device to an item of clothing.
The present invention also relates to an apparatus defining an item of clothing having a strip of a reflective tape surrounded by fluorescent material.
It is known to provide garments with light emitting diodes that may provide permanent illumination or that may be activated in response to detecting a particular condition. For example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,992,516, assigned to the present application, red light-emitting diodes are illuminated in response to a local detection of a toxic substance and blue light-emitting diodes are activated if a substance is detected by a co-worker. In these known systems, the light-emitting diodes are supported by a rubber cover that is externally stitched to an item of clothing. Although such an approach does provide a degree of protection for the light-emitting diodes, the devices themselves are exposed and may be damaged, possibly due to the presence of dust. Furthermore, it is possible for the rubber covers to bend resulting in greater exposure of the light-emitting diodes, that may in turn result in them becoming damaged or chipped.
Increasingly, higher levels of sophistication are being provided by items of clothing of this type, including internal communication between detection devices and data transmission and storage etc. As the overall value of the items of clothing increase, there is a greater requirement for providing overall reliability; it would be undesirable for an item of clothing to be rejected due to a relatively inexpensive failure.